Yellow Safety Ducks
by Lialane Graest
Summary: On the anniversary of the Kishin's defeat, Stein and Marie share a bottle of wine instead of attending the party. Marie is a lightweight, leading to an interesting conversation with Stein about yellow safety ducks, fear and having enough to drink.


"We all have fears, Franken." Marie said, her voice slurring. The mostly empty bottle of wine between the two of them and her empty glass attested to her inebriation.

Stein's voice was steady as he replied with a question. "And what are your fears, Marie?" The scientist sat forward in the chair, leaning his elbows against the table the wine bottle and his nearly full glass were sitting on.

The woman was silent for a moment before a nervous giggle escaped her. "I can't tell you."

He twisted the screw in his head for a moment before smirking. "I'll make you a deal, Marie."

She regarded him warily. "What's that?"

"I'll tell you my fears if you tell me yours." Stein reasoned that she was too drunk to remember the conversation in the morning anyway, and his curiosity was eating at him.

What could Marie be afraid of?

Another giggle escaped the woman and she fidgeted across from him. "Alright, Fraaaanken," the woman looked into her cup for a moment before sighing, hanging her head. "I'm… aquaphobic."

Stein suppressed the sadistic grin that tried to slip over his features. Oh, the fun he could have with that tidbit of knowledge. Instead he forced himself to nod sympathetically. "It must be difficult showering each morning, then."

"It is!" Marie's head popped up, her eyes bright. "You never noticed that I'm always shaking when I come out of the bathroom?"

"I assumed you were cold from the change in temperature. You tend to take hot showers." Stein smirked. "Why are you afraid of water?"

"Well, water and electricity aren't the best of friends, you know," she slurred lightly. "I'm afraid I'm going to short out or set the house on fire or something."

"Rubber ducks in the tub could help to ground any errant electricity, Marie." Stein said, his face carefully neutral.

The woman collapsed against the couch, giggling. "They'd have to be yellow and have little eye patches just like mine for it to work right!" Stein just smirked.

"What about you?" Marie asked suddenly, looking at him from her lopsided position on the couch.

"Hmm?"

"We hads a deal!" She slurred out giggling. Stein smirked at her addition to the word 'had'. "What is the best meister the DWMA has ever seen afraid of?"

Stein was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid of losing myself before I've completed the work I've started."

Marie looked at him before speaking slowly, carefully enunciating each word, as if she were worried about him not understanding or her making a mistake. "I won't let you. Ever." She smiled when said the last word, as if she were proud of herself and hauled herself back up and into a sitting position.

"I believe you, Marie." The scientist said sincerely.

The blonde reached for the bottle of wine and knocked it over. Dexterous hands caught it before it could spill and Marie giggled, flopping onto her back on the couch, one hand covering her eyes while the other held the empty wine glass out.

"I think you've had enough, Marie."

"It's the anniversary of the kishin's defeat, Franken, and you wouldn't let us go to the party! The least you can let me do is have another drink," she argued, the wine glass dangling from her fingertips.

Stein smirked. "If I do, and you wake up without a kidney, would you be adverse to that possibility?" The blonde's eye opened wide and she glared at him. "Still want that drink?"

She just sat the wine glass down on the table. Stein chuckled and leaned back as Marie's eye slid closed. He watched amusedly as she suddenly lurched to her feet, staggering towards the stairs leading up.

"Going to bed?"

She didn't answer him, just stumbled up the stairs. A moment later he heard a door slam, correctly deducing that it was the bathroom. The sounds of wretching a second later confirmed it. Stein chuckled as he heard her flush and water running before he heard the door reopen. The unmistakable sound of her shuffling across the hall was followed a second later by her bedroom door shutting.

Stein picked up his wine glass and held it up into the air, toasting everything and nothing before taking a small sip. Picking up her glass and his, he walked them and the wine bottle into the kitchen before slipping on his lab coat and leaving the lab.

* * *

Marie woke up around noon, her head pounding and a vile taste in her mouth. She immediately rushed to the bathroom, emptying what little was left in her stomach into the toilet. She brushed her teeth again and looked in the mirror, sighing at the mess that she looked like.

Staggering slightly she padded over to Stein's room and cracked the door to peer in. The man wasn't there and she sighed, dreading having to go down the stairs to ask for some Tylenol.

'_Maybe taking a shower will help…'_ She thought, a slight shudder going through her at the thought of submersing herself in that much water yet again. Resolved she shuffled to her room, wincing at the bright light that she hadn't noticed pouring through her windows when she first woke. She gathered her clothing and stepped back out, returning to the bathroom.

She pulled the shower curtain back and found herself gawking at the bottom of the tub. Aligned in a smiley face were small, yellow safety rubber ducks, and each one had miniature version of her eye patch. Fragmented memories of the night before rushed back, and Marie stepped underneath the hot spray, suddenly a little less apprehensive about the shower.

In his lab, Stein smiled to himself. He could feel the difference in her wavelength even where he was.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed! I don't own Soul Eater.**


End file.
